Wine, Chocolate, and Blackberries

I’m happy to say that my final baking projects of 2016 all included something I had not used or made before. One of my favorite things about cooking and baking is trying something new and finding out the recipe worked.

Chocolate Cake with a Red Wine Chocolate Glaze
Another recipe I got from Bon Appetit. It turned out pretty good and the ladies in my women’s group absolutely loved it. I did almost ruin the glaze because I heated the chocolate too quickly or on too high a heat, I think. So be careful when making the glaze.

Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies
In all the years I have been making chocolate chip cookies, this is the first time I ever used mini chocolate and I have to say I’m definitely a fan. Not only did I make more cookies than expected (at least 36) from one batch of dough, but I also found that mini chips give a great chocolate to dough ratio.

Almond Linzer Cookies with Blackberry Jam
This was the first time I ever made this type of cookie and I actually had to go buy biscuit cutters so I could make these. The original recipe calls for hazelnuts, but almonds were already in my pantry so I decided to use those instead. I was also pleasantly surprised to discover how delicious blackberry jam is.